US prosecutors have issued revised charges against Donald Trump for the former president’s alleged attempts to interfere in the 2020 election after losing the contest.
The updated wording tries to navigate a Supreme Court ruling that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. The ruling had thrown this case into doubt.
Trump refutes allegations that he deliberately disseminated false information about election fraud, put pressure on officials to overturn the results, and tried to use a disturbance at the US Capitol to postpone Joe Biden’s certification as the winner.
It is unlikely that the case along with other criminal cases will make it to court before November 5th, when the next election is scheduled.
The revised indictment, brought by Department of Justice (DoJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith, leaves in place the four crimes Trump is accused of committing: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
But these now relate to Trump’s status as a political candidate rather than a sitting president.
Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that the fresh indictment was “an effort to resurrect a ‘dead’ Witch Hunt” and “distract the American People” from this year’s election. He called for it to be “dismissed IMMEDIATELY”.
The new charging document – which was slimmed down from 45 to 36 pages – re-works the language of the allegations to respond to last month’s ruling on presidential immunity by the Supreme Court.
It argues Trump acted as a private citizen – and not as president – when he undertook the alleged scheme to sway the election.
Meanwhile, Trump awaits sentencing after being convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to a porn star.
If Trump defeats Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November, he is widely expected to order officials to drop all the remaining federal charges that he faces.
